


Good (Long) Days

by 2nerd4this



Series: 'For My Soul" [7]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Mom!Aragon, sleepy!Parr, writer!parr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2nerd4this/pseuds/2nerd4this
Summary: Catherine Parr comes home from her first book signing, exhausted and ready to unwind. Unfortunately for her, the other Queens have an evening of celebration planned. She tries her best to push aside her own feelings to seem grateful, but she can't hold up the facade forever and eventually, she snaps. Of course, Catalina is always there to pick up the pieces.A Tumblr fluff drabble prompt that morphed into a 3000-word hurt/comfort fic
Relationships: Catherine of Aragon & Catherine Parr
Series: 'For My Soul" [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935613
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	Good (Long) Days

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> This was my procrastination/coping project over the past week, and it turned out much better than I hoped. This was a really fun prompt and I could have expanded on it even more probably, but I wanted to finish it up and move on to other things before I got too distracted.
> 
> (I also definitely did not proofread, so please excuse any embarrassing mistakes)
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It had been a long day.

That wasn’t to say it hadn’t been a  _ good _ day. No- it was great, in most respects, at least.

Publishing a book without having to fight for recognition because of her gender had been a dream of Cathy’s since reincarnation, and she still wasn’t quite able to wrap her mind around the fact that people loved her book so much that they wanted her to  _ sign _ it. Honestly, it’s insane and amazing. The concept that she wrote words from her brain onto paper and suddenly they were in the brains of hundreds of people around the world was mind-blowing.

But still- her first book signing was much more exhausting than she had expected. She had assured the others that she didn’t need them to tag along, that she could manage on her own. Catalina had almost insisted but had eventually agreed to remain back in order to avoid being patronizing. The others recognized her assurances as a wish to prove herself and stepped back without much argument.

Now, though, as she walked home from the bus stop alone, Catherine Parr almost wished she had brought at least one other Queen with. 

The signing itself had been good, she supposed. It was well organized and the fans were amazing and her agent was completely in control. She didn’t have to do anything except sit and smile and talk and sign. 

Still, it was a lot. She was never great with crowds, and even worse when she was the center of attention. There were lots of questions about her next book, which had been causing her major grief, and about halfway through, she was suddenly hit with the realization that the number of fans she had was equal to the number of people she could disappoint with this next book, or the lack of it.

Even after it had all been over, the bus was late and she was stuck in the rain for almost an hour. Then the bus had been super crowded and she was stuffed between a mother and her crying toddler and a creepy middle-aged man who wouldn’t stop peering down at her.

Needless to say, Cathy was looking forward to retreating into her own room and decompressing and... perhaps having a nice little cry session.

Stumbling up the front steps, slouched and pulling the jacket tighter around her body, she fumbled with the knob before managing to pull open the front door.

In the living room, just as expected, were the other Queens, but instead of lounging on the couch or sitting around the table like usual, they were all five standing there, smiling widely in her direction and very clearly expecting something.

“Hi?” Cathy tilted her head awkwardly, chuckling softly as she glanced around. Kitty and Anne both had ridiculous smiles plastered on their faces, and the former was rocking back and forth in clear excitement. Jane looked just as excited but was a little more contained. Anna and Catalina were both smiling as well but were much more subdued than the others. 

For a moment, none of them said anything, still staring at her, eyes wide and smiles bright. Eventually, it was Kitty who burst.

“How’d it go?! Tell us everything!”

Cathy struggled to repress a sigh, instead trying her best to make her smile seem genuine. She  _ really _ should have seen this coming.

“It was good!”

“Yeah?!” Jane asked, obviously quite pleased with the answer. The other four mirrored her expression, in some way another. Cathy nodded, shifting awkwardly as she tried to take off her jacket and shoes without making it apparent that she was avoiding their gazes.

“Yeah. Yeah, everyone was really nice and- and my agent was great and the venue was very nice and... and yeah,” she trailed off awkwardly, nodding. The others didn't mind.

“That's wonderful!” Jane exclaimed, and it was a small relief to Cathy that she finally broke the stillness in the room in order to walk to the sixth Queen and take her damp jacket. “We didn't want to be creepy, but we were all so excited to hear all about it that Anne watched your phone to see when you'd get home.”

Cathy nodded, forcing out a soft chuckle. “That's really nice of you. I worried you had all just stood there the entire time I was gone and waited.”

Jane and Kitty laughed, both genuine and elated laughs, and Cathy resigned herself to the fact that she was going to have to endure a few more hours of socialization. They had been  _ waiting for her _ . And they all seemed so excited! It would be incredibly rude to retreat to her room now.

“It must have been so much fun!” Anne skipped across the room, much more chipper than Cathy had seen her in a long while. “I know you're an amazing writer and all, but your own book signing? Insane!”

“Yes, how lucky we are to have been reincarnated in a time like this. Perfect for a writer.” Anna sidled over to the couch and slid down into it, smirking slightly up at Cathy. 

The sixth Queen nodded slowly, stepping farther into the room and glancing around at the others, who were just staring at her.

“Hi?” she repeated, tilting her head in confusion. Jane jumped slightly and tore her gaze away, gesturing back to the kitchen quickly.

“Oh! Right! We thought we’d have a little celebration for you, so we -and by we I mean Lina and I, don't worry- we cooked some foods you like.”

“And a movie night!” Kitty jumped in excitedly. 

“Oh, I-” Cathy stuttered, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, “I appreciate it, but you all don't need to do this for me, it’s not really a big-”

“Too late!” Anne laughed. “We’re really proud of you, Cathy, so let us pamper you tonight, alright?” The second Queen’s voice became much more sympathetic and she smiled softly.

Now Cathy  _ definitely _ couldn't say no. No way. ‘We’re proud of you’ was her weak spot! But it would be fine- it shouldn't be that hard to just relax and enjoy time with her family, no matter how long of a day she had had.

“Alright,” Cathy conceded, allowing Anne to lead her to the dining room table. “Thank you, all of you, this is really sweet.”

Her gratitude was met with elated smiles from the others as they sat at the table with her, and despite the positivity that was emanating from all of them, Cathy couldn't help but feel claustrophobic and a sense of dread settling in her chest.

The bright smiles from Kitty and Jane, the jokes from Anna and Anne, and the twinkle in Catalina’s eye felt much more daunting in the moment than Cathy had ever felt before from the other Queens.

It was going to be a long night.

\---

Dinner was  _ great,  _ it really was. 

The food was amazing, as always, and the other women had granted her the small mercy of not forcing her into the conversation. They laughed and smiled and joked and Cathy couldn't help but feel  _ off. _

But it was fine.

Every so often she would glance up from her food at catch Catalina watching her, head tilted in curiosity. Every time, she would give what she hoped was a reassuring smile, and her godmother would simply nod and turn back to her own plate. 

Eventually, though, she knew this blessed silence on her part would be forced to come to an end.

“So, Cathy-” 

Called it. Everyone had reached the end of their meal and conversation had picked up. When Anna addressed her, though, they had all fallen silent and turned to face Cathy.

“-how’s that second book coming along? You’ve been spending an awful lot of time working on it the past few weeks, so I can’t wait to see what you’ve got.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Cathy started, setting down her fork and pushing her plate away, “It’s- it’s getting there.” She forced out a weak smile, but apparently that was enough for Anna, who beamed.

“Wonderful! I’m sure your fans are so excited.”

Cathy paused at this, glancing down at her lap in silence. She could still feel the Queen’s gazes fixed on her, but she was just so...  _ tired _ . 

“Cathy?” Catalina asked, voice suddenly much softer than it had been all night.

“Yeah,” Cathy muttered, trying to keep herself from snapping at her godmother. “Really excited.”

“You don’t sound very convinced,” Anne remarked sarcastically.

“Well, I am!” Cathy’s head shot up and she glared at the second Queen. “I just signed a hundred books for fans, don’t you think they’d want another one?!”

“Cathy, I don’t think that’s what she meant, she was just-” Jane tried.

“Whatever.” Cathy shook her head and rose from the table, grabbing her dishes and making her way to the sink.”

“Cathy, we just wanted to ask about your book. What’s the big-” 

“O-kay,” Catalina interrupted Kitty before she could finish her sentence. “It seems like we are all finished eating, so I’m going to pop some popcorn. Anna, can you get the movie started?”

“Uh, yeah.” Anna nodded, glancing between Cathy and Kitty awkwardly before getting up from the table and walking through the door towards the living room. Catalina stared at the rest of them, who were still looking at her. 

“Go on to the living room, please.”

“Right.” Jane nodded and obeyed, Anne and Kitty following quickly behind. Cathy lingered momentarily, still watching her godmother. Catalina had turned back to the microwave, but she sent the younger Queen a reassuring smile over her shoulder when she noticed she hadn’t left yet. 

Cathy took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded as well. She disappeared into the living room not long after, grateful that Catalina had stepped in when she did. Now she just had to survive a few more hours, where they would all hopefully be too invested in the movie to talk to her.

No such luck.

The movie ( _ Bandits _ ) had barely begun and Cathy was already fighting to stay awake. In the dim light of the living room, the exhaustion from the day was threatening to take over and she could feel a migraine coming on. The sixth Queen was curled up in an armchair, body buried in a thick blanket and head in her hands.

“Cathy?” Kitty whispered. The youngest Queen was sitting on the floor next to her, leaning up against the couch. Cathy hummed softly and turned her head to see the girl peering up at her. “Are you alright?”

“What?” Cathy rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, just a headache.”

“Are you sure? You’ve been acting odd all evening.”

“I’m fine, Katherine,” Cathy all but snapped at the girl, then remembered herself and softened her voice. “I’m sorry.”

By this point, the other four had noticed this conversation and Anne had paused the movie.

“What’s wrong, Cath?” Jane asked as she turned in her chair. Cathy scoffed.

“I said I’m fine, guys. Can we just- just finish the movie? Please?”

“Well, it seems like you aren’t really enjoying the movie, and we did it for you, so...” Kitty said, and she didn’t mean to be rude, Cathy knew, but the sixth Queen suddenly grew very quiet.

“Cathy?” Catalina asked when Cathy hadn’t responded. 

“Cathy, I didn’t mean to make you upset, I was just saying that we did this for you and we-”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Cathy yelled suddenly, head snapping up. The others watched as her face morphed immediately from anger to terror and her body curled in on itself.

“Cathy?” 

“Mija, what’s-”

“I want to be left alone, please,” Cathy interrupted as she stood from her chair, blanket sliding to the floor. “I’m sorry.” 

And then she disappeared up the steps, leaving five confused Queens in her wake.

\---

How could she be so stupid?   


It had been a long day, sure, but that was no excuse to snap at her family and be so ungrateful for everything they did for her. She was supposed to be  _ happy _ and it wasn’t their fault she wasn’t.

They were probably mad at her, and they had every right to be, but that didn’t mean she was looking forward to the inevitable scolding anymore than normal.

Cathy had shut herself in her room as soon as she got there, locking the door behind her and burying herself under the covers. She had just enough wit left about her to hold back the rising sobs, knowing that soon enough her request would be denied and someone would want to talk to her.

Sure enough, a knock on the door shook her from her thoughts.

“Mija?”

As Cathy extracted herself from the tangle of blankets, she sighed sharply. She was expecting her godmother to be the one who checked on her, but the dread was just the same.

“Cathy?” Catalina questioned again as the woman in question unlocked and opened the door. Cathy gave her a weak smile and stepped aside before shutting the door sharply behind her. The two stood awkwardly in the middle of the room for a moment before Catalina sighed and smoothed her skirt.

“How about we sit down, alright?”

Cathy didn’t respond but obeyed nonetheless, sinking onto her bed. Catalina watched her for a moment before taking a seat in the desk chair. Still, neither said anything for a long while, both more interested by something on their lap.

Finally, it was Cathy who broke the silence, voice somehow both resigned and frantic.

“Look, I’m sorry, alright? I know I shouldn’t have yelled at you and I should have been more appreciative, because I had a good time at the signing, I really did, but I’m just so tired, and I know it’s not an excuse, but I can’t bear to have you think that I was being bitchy for no reason! Please, Lina, I didn’t mean-”

“Whoa, Cathy, slow down,” Catalina interjected as Cathy was struggling to catch a breath in her rant, holding her hands out in a placatingly manner. “What are you talking about?”

Cathy blinked up at her godmother, then squinted her eyes in suspicion. “I’m- I’m apologizing.”

“Whatever for?”

Cathy had already opened her mouth to answer, but didn’t expect that question at all, so she stopped in her tracks. Catalina looked completely serious, not like she was pulling one over on her, but she never really could tell with her godmother.

“Wha- what for?” Cathy repeated, incredulous. “For- for snapping at Kitty. And all of you. Wait, what are you doing here then?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were alright.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.”

There was more awkward silence for a few moments, before Catalina sighed and leaned down, trying to catch her goddaughter’s gaze.

“You’re clearly not alright, though, mija. Why were you apologizing?”   


“I-” Cathy stuttered, “I just meant that I shouldn’t have been so ungrateful. I know how lucky I am to have the fans I do have, and then I came home and you had all planned it out so nice for me, but I didn’t appreciate like I should.”

“Mija, we don’t care about that,” Catalina hummed. Cathy nodded, but didn’t look convinced. “You know that, right?”

“I mean- yeah, but having a long day doesn’t give me an excuse to so selfish and unappreciative.”

“Oh, no, querida.” Catalina sounded genuinely heartbroken, and Cathy was taken aback. “Love, we really just wanted you to have a good day.  _ I’m  _ sorry. I’m sorry we just made it worse.” 

The first Queen regarded her goddaughter closely, but Cathy didn’t raise her gaze from the floor. Catalina sighed, then stood slowly and slid across the room so she was sitting on the bed next to her. Cathy silently slid closer to her godmother and allowed the older woman to wrap an arm around her as she relaxed against her side.

“Did you really think I came up here to yell at you?”

“Yeah,” Cathy chuckled softly, “I thought you would all be mad. You looked so excited when I got home, and I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Not possible.”

“I know, but... I dunno. I don’t want to disappoint my fans either.”

Catalina paused, then decided to take a risk.

“Care to elaborate?”

Cathy hesitated, then nodded. 

“That second book I’ve been working on? It’s... it’s not going very well. I have an idea, I do! I’ve just hit a wall and I’m struggling. I got lots of questions about a release date today and I honestly don’t think it’ll be for another year or so.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry querida. That sounds very frustrating.”

“Yeah” Cathy nodded tiredly. “There’s just so many people expecting so much of me and I know that I can easily let them down if this one isn’t very good.”

“That makes sense.” Catalina nodded sagely. “But if they are true fans, they would rather wait for an amazing book than get a rushed one sooner, right?”

“...yeah.” Cathy conceded. 

“I suppose that just made it all so much worse, huh?”

“Yeah. I had a good time, I swear. But after it all, when I got home, I was just really tired.”

“I noticed.” Catalina smirked. “I bet it was really overwhelming, all those people. I still wish you had let me come with."

“In retrospect, that would have probably been a good idea.” Cathy smiled softly, burrowing deeper into the other’s arms. 

“This is what happens when you don’t bring your old godmother along for emotional support, mija,” Catalina joked, and Cathy let out a sharp laugh.

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“Seriously, though, querida, I’m so sorry we didn’t see how miserable you were.” Catalina shifted so she could see Cathy’s face. The sixth Queen opened her mouth to say something, but Lina interjected, “Please don’t apologize.”

“How did you-”   


“I’m psychic, mija. I thought you knew this.”

Cathy laughed softly again, but grew quiet quickly. Catalina began to run her hands through the girl’s curly hair.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

The younger woman hesitated, then shook her head.

“No. I just want to forget about it all. It was just very overwhelming and everything seemed to pile on. I’m not even upset. Just really,  _ really _ tired.” 

“That makes sense. I suggest you go right to sleep, then”

“Probably a good idea.” Cathy nodded, but made no move to extract herself. 

“I suppose a few more minutes of cuddling couldn’t hurt, though.” Catalina chuckled, pulling the girl closer as she moved so she could lean against the headboard.

“Mhmm” Cathy hummed, face buried in her godmother’s cardigan.

“Alright, mija.” Lina smiled. “But if you fall asleep, I will wake you up to change into nightclothes.”

Cathy nodded minutely in understanding as the last of the tension left her body.

It had been a long day.

This was the perfect way to end it.    
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
